Units, and his own set of troop transport aircraft and military police. Tibbets was to control his own maintenance, engineering, ordnance, medical, radiological, and technical
Groves provided Tibbets with fifteen Boeing Superfortresses and eighteen hundred men, and ordered him to shape them into a self-contained, secret outfit. He chose twenty-nine-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Paul Tibbets to assemble and command the group. The 509th Composite Group had been created in September 1944 when Major General Leslie Groves, the man in charge of the Manhattan Project to construct the atomic bomb, foresaw the need for a dedicated corps of men trained to drop the bomb on targets in Prominently featured in that gallery would be the restored fifty-six-foot-longįorward fuselage of the aircraft, memorabilia donated by the men of the 509th, and a video-film the museum had produced, in which crew members of the Enola Gay and her sister ship Bockscar recalled their missions. But the Enola Gay and the men of the 509th had, some would argue, actually ended the war all by themselves.įifteen years later, largely inspired by these veterans' visit that day, the National Air and Space Museum would be preparing an exhibition on the mission of the Enola Gay. OthersĬould also claim to have contributed. In 1945, the Enola Gay and the men who were now visiting her had ended the war. When they had last seen her, she was a proud, brilliantly shiny, beautifully sleek B-29 Superfortress-the most powerful bomber the Army Air Forces flew in World War II. Garber Restoration, Preservation, and Storage Facility. With great expectations, they drove to Silver Hill, in Suitland, Maryland, just outside Washington's city limits, where the National AirĪnd Space Museum has its Paul E. They would be able to visit their beloved Enola Gay. On this occasion they also had an additional attraction. At five-year intervals in the previous thirty-five years they had met in other cities to reminisce and exchange news. He also said that the bomber played a decisive role in bringing World War two to an end.Late in the summer of 1980 a small band of men approaching retirement age convened in Washington. Jack Dailey, Director of the Smithsonian said "Because the Enola Gay was used to drop the first atomic weapon, it has come to represent the beginning of the atomic age." In some cases, workers had to make special tools to reassemble the plane.
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The B-29 bomber was disassembled so completely that manuals from the manufacturer were unable to describe how to put it back together. Officials say hundreds of thousands of hours were spent cleaning its parts and reassembling them. The Smithsonian began restoring it in 1984, with the help of volunteers from around the world. In 1960, it was dismantled and put into storage. The blast and its after effects killed an estimated 140,000 people by the end of that year.Īfter the war, the Enola Gay was stored outside for several years. The Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on the western Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. Udvar-Hazy Center, which will open on December 15 at Washington Dulles International The plane, which has taken 20 painstaking years to restore, will be placed on public display at the museum's new facility, the Steven F. The newly reassembled Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was unveiled on Monday by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Bomb damage and destroyed buildings at ground zero in HiroshimaĢ0. Harness in the bomb bay which held the atomic bombġ7. It delivers the facts and allows people to understand these facts within the context of their own understanding and beliefs."ġ2. "The new exhibit plan is designed for individuals of all ages. Jack Dailey, Director of Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum: Sign describing Enola Gay's role in dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshimaġ0. Because the Enola Gay was used to drop the first atomic weapon, it has come to represent the beginning of the atomic age."ĩ. It played a decisive role in bringing World War two to an end. "The Enola Gay is historically, technologically and symbolically significant. Shot of crew list painted on the plane's noseĨ. Restored B-29 Bomber "Enola Gay" inside a hangarĤ. Dulles Airport, Virginia - 18 August 2003ġ.